The Chinese Student Association hosted their annual Chinese New Year celebration last Wednesday in the Babbio Atrium, with complementary food and bubble tea. The event began at 9:00 p.m., with students filing in and forming a long line to receive servings of sesame chicken, vegetable fried rice, pork dumplings, and crab rangoon.
The food was catered by Yeung II, and the bubble tea from Vivi’s, both located on Washington Street.
CSA Vice President Jonathan Wong explained that Chinese New Year is the way that Asian countries celebrate the new year, rather than on December 31. “The historical significance is in the past,” he said. This New Year represents the Year of the Monkey.
“The monkey is one of the Zodiac animals,” Jonathan said. “There’re many other ones – the snake, the sheep, and so on. It’s very similar to horoscopes, where each animal might be compatible with another animal, and some animals might be avoided. Each animal has its own significance.”
The monkey is typically characterized by being intelligent, lively, and honest.
“[Chinese New Year] is usually celebrated in the way we are doing it now, with a big gathering of family and relatives from both sides. You get together, share stories, and talk to each other over food. There’s a lot of food that is specially made for this day, like peking duck, which we have for our event. I usually celebrate two times with both sides of my family, once a week before, and once on the day.”
Students interested in joining the CSA can do so by attending a general body meeting, which happens biweekly on Thursdays. Anyone with questions about the CSA can email csa@stevens.edu.
“Anyone is welcome, and we’re glad to see a wide variety of people,” Jonathan said.
